Air defense of Czechoslovakia. During the Cold War, the main air defense systems of Czechoslovakia were deployed in the western and central parts of the country. On the territory of Slovakia, there were stationary positions of the air defense missile system only around Bratislava. During the division of military property after the "velvet divorce" with the Czech Republic, the Slovak Republic mainly got the equipment and weapons of the 186th anti-aircraft missile brigade, whose headquarters were located in the town of Pezenok, 20 km southeast of Bratislava. As of 1989, the 186th air defense missile brigade had six medium-range air defense systems C-75M / M3 and two low-altitude complexes C-125M.
Air coverage was provided by three radar companies of the 65th separate radar battalion with headquarters in the village of Mirovo. In addition, the 14th Panzer Division included the 10th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment, equipped with mobile medium-range air defense systems "Cube", the place of permanent deployment of which was the city of Poprad.
Anti-aircraft missile forces of Slovakia
Given that the lion's share of anti-aircraft missile systems and radar stations remained on the territory of the Czech Republic, the Slovak leadership raised the issue of compensation. During the negotiations, the Slovaks managed to achieve the transfer of the most valuable part of the socialist military legacy to them: the only S-300PMU anti-aircraft missile battalion and two ST-68U three-coordinate radars. Also, the Slovak Republic received two regimental sets of medium-range air defense systems "Cube" and a battery of short-range air defense systems "Strela-10M".
Unlike the Czech Republic, the operation of Soviet first-generation anti-aircraft missile systems in the air defense forces of Slovakia lasted much longer. If the Czechs parted with the S-75M3 and S-200VE air defense systems by 1999, and with the S-125M1A by 2001, then in the Slovak Republic the S-75M3 and S-125M complexes were in service until 2007. They were on alert until 2003, after which the bulk of the complexes were moved to storage bases and deployed only periodically during exercises.
After the entry of Slovakia into NATO and the renaming of the Air Force and Air Defense of the Army of the Slovak Republic into the Air Force of the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic, the country's leadership decided to abandon the outdated Soviet-made single-channel air defense systems. At the same time, the S-300PMU multi-channel long-range air defense system, part of the Kub mobile military complexes and the Strela-10M air defense system remained in service. Unlike the armed forces of the Czech Republic, the Slovak military department did not subject the existing Cube air defense systems to significant modernization. At the enterprise MSM Banská Bystrica, which in the past was engaged in the repair of aviation equipment, maintenance and current repairs of the Kub and Strela-10M air defense systems were established. The restoration of mechanical assemblies and individual electronic units was also carried out here. This made it possible to extend the service life of the Slovak mobile air defense systems, but at the moment there is a need to replace them. The last Strela-10M combat vehicles based on the MT-LB tracked lightly armored tractor were decommissioned in 2018, and the remaining Kub air defense missile systems are scheduled to be decommissioned in 2019.
In 1996, in repayment of the Russian debt, Slovakia received 72 portable 9K310 Igla-1 anti-aircraft missile systems. Compared with those assembled in Czechoslovakia under license from the Strela-2M MANPADS, the Igla-1 portable complex has better noise immunity, a greater probability of hitting a target, has a launch range of up to 5200 m, and an altitude reach of 10-3500 m.
The Slovak army, along with the Igla-1 complexes, operated the Strela-2M MANPADS manufactured in Czechoslovakia. Due to the presence of a significant stock of anti-aircraft missiles and disposable electric batteries, until recently, Slovak calculations often made training firing.
At the moment, all Slovak anti-aircraft missile systems have been consolidated into the Anti-aircraft missile brigade named after the defenders of Tobruk. This military unit was created on the basis of the training center of the air defense forces in the city of Nitra and the 13th anti-aircraft missile regiment. After a series of reorganizations and renaming, it became the 2nd air defense brigade, which was unofficially called the “Nitra Air Defense Brigade”. Since October 1, 2002, the brigade has its current name. Until 2007, the only Slovak air defense missile brigade included divisions equipped with C-125M and C-75M3 air defense systems. In 2005, the "Cuban" anti-aircraft missile regiment stationed in Rozhnava was transferred to the brigade.
In the guidance documents of the Slovak Ministry of Defense, the anti-aircraft missile brigade is assigned the following tasks:
- protection of important political, economic and economic centers from air attack means, maintenance of sovereignty and suppression of unauthorized intrusion into the airspace of the Slovak Republic;
- providing air defense of ground units;
- training of personnel for participation in a peacekeeping mission in Cyprus.
According to the reference data, as of the second half of 2018, the Slovak air defense brigade has the 1st and 2nd anti-aircraft missile groups. The first group includes one long-range air defense missile system S-300PMU, the second includes four batteries of the Kub air defense missile system. All available portable Igla-1 complexes are included in the MANPADS section.
After gaining independence, the Slovak military had the opportunity to conduct training firing of the "Kub" air defense system only in 2002. Real launches of anti-aircraft missiles at air targets took place at the Ustka training ground in Poland. Subsequently, such firing was repeated almost every year, but they did not always go smoothly. On August 19, 2003, in the airspace of the Ustka training ground, a 3M9M3E anti-aircraft missile launched from the 2P25 SPU shot down a Su-22M4 fighter-bomber of the Polish Air Force. The pilot managed to successfully eject, and two hours after the incident he was picked up from the surface of the Baltic Sea by a search and rescue helicopter.
Open sources say that the Slovak Kub air defense systems are currently being decommissioned and will be disposed of. This is due not only to the high degree of wear of the complexes delivered in the mid-1980s, but also to the fact that the Slovak army uses 3M9M3E anti-aircraft missiles received by Czechoslovakia in the mid-1980s. The technical reliability of missiles with many times overdue shelf life is questionable. In addition, the personnel of the 2nd group have to make heroic efforts to maintain the equipment of the reconnaissance and guidance stations in working order. In the past, the American company Raytheon and the European Matra BAE Dynamics Alenia offered their services for the modernization of Slovak "Cubes". However, due to the deficit of the defense budget and the imminent end of the life cycle of the Kub air defense system, their proposals were rejected.
Current state and prospects of the Slovak S-300PMU anti-aircraft missile system
At the moment, the only air defense system that is constantly on alert in the armed forces of the Slovak Republic is the S-300PMU air defense system, deployed at a position 7 km west of the city of Nitra.
The S-300PMU anti-aircraft missile division has been the pride of the Slovak Air Force for a long period of time. Elements of the S-300PMU were regularly demonstrated at exhibitions of equipment and weapons and participated in military parades.
The Slovak S-300PMU battalion not only covers the capital Bratislava from the east, but it is also used for training, during which combat aircraft of NATO countries learn to hack an air defense system built on Soviet and Russian-made complexes.
The S-300PMU have in the past conducted live firing at the Shabla training ground in Bulgaria. The last exercise Tobruq Legacy 2016 with the participation of the Slovak anti-aircraft system S-300PMU took place in September 2016. More than 1,250 military personnel from NATO countries took part in them.
In recent photographs of the Slovak S-300PMU, it can be seen that on self-propelled launchers 5P85S and 5P85D, instead of the standard four missiles, there are usually two missiles. Apparently, this is due to the shortage of conditioned 5В55Р anti-aircraft missiles delivered in 1990.
There is information that in the past, individual elements of the S-300PMU air defense system underwent current repairs at the MSM Banská Bystrica enterprise. In the early 2000s, the Soviet-made KrAZ-260 tractors used to tow the ST-68U radar and the 76N6 low-altitude detector were replaced by the Czech Tatra 815.
In 2012, Slovak representatives began to probe the soil for possible overhaul and modernization of the S-300PMU in Russia. The Slovaks also expressed interest in replenishing the ammunition load of the SAM. Seven years ago, Slovakia did not manage to find financial resources to realize what was desired, and to the credit of our then leadership, the Russian side refused on credit to improve the air defense system of a NATO member country. Later, in connection with the well-known events related to Ukraine and the imposition of sanctions against our country, the issue of modernizing the Slovak S-300PMU air defense system was no longer discussed with Russia. Nevertheless, in the very near future, Bratislava will have to decide: to write off the only long-range anti-aircraft missile system or to negotiate with the Russian side about attracting the Almaz-Antey concern to extend its service life. The solution may be to carry out repair and modernization work in another country. As you know, the restoration and modernization of Soviet-made anti-aircraft systems are being carried out in Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan. However, such work cannot be fully carried out without the participation of Russia, since these countries do not have their own capacities for the production of the necessary components, electronic products and anti-aircraft missiles.
Radar control of the airspace of Slovakia
Like the Czech Republic, in the armed forces of Slovakia, after the division of military property, there were many obsolete Soviet-made radars. In the mid-1990s, all P-12, P-14, P-15, P-30M and P-35 radars were sent for disposal. Until recently, mobile radars P-19, P-40 and radio altimeters PRV-16 were used to issue target designation of the "Kub" air defense system.
Unlike the Czech Republic, the P-18 stations are still in operation in the Slovak radio engineering companies. Moreover, since 2001, these mobile VHF radars have undergone refurbishment and partial replacement of electronic units with units with a new element base. The former aircraft repair plant MSM Banská Bystrica was the parent company for the cycle of repairs and "minor" modernization. Here, in the 21st century, the P-37 and ST-68U radars were also repaired, which, after repair and updating of part of the element base, received the designation P-37 MSM, ST-68 MSM. At the same time, according to the advertising materials presented by MSM Banská Bystrica, the analog equipment and other components, including waveguides, were partially replaced with modern digital equipment. MSM Banská Bystrica was engaged in repair and modernization activities in conjunction with the Russian radar manufacturer NPO Lianozovsky Electromechanical Plant and the European arms consortium EADS.
Since 2006, all Slovak radio engineering units have been consolidated into the Command, Control and Surveillance Wing, with headquarters in the city of Zvolen. In total, 9 permanently operating radar posts have been deployed in Slovakia, which on the territory of the country with an area of 48,845 km² makes it possible to form a radar field with multiple overlapping.
As of 2018, the radio technical troops of the Slovak Air Force had: 6 P-37 MSM radars with a detection radius of air targets up to 320 km, 2 ST-68 MSM radars with a range of up to 360 km, 3 Czech-made RL-4AM Morad-L radars with range of 200 km and three radio altimeters PRV-17.
It is reported that the modernized two-coordinate Soviet-made P-37 MSM radars and PRV-17 radio altimeters should be decommissioned in 2020, and the three-coordinate ST-68 MSM in 2022. Five years ago, the leadership of Slovakia and the Czech Republic agreed to jointly purchase new ground-based radar stations. The corresponding agreement was signed by the prime ministers of the Czech Republic and Slovakia. It was assumed that the parties will adopt a new mobile three-axis digital radar, created by the Czech company RETIA. However, these plans were not destined to come true. Currently, the Slovak authorities are considering options for acquiring radars in other countries. Favorite production stations include Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Thales, BAE Systems and Elta Systems. The Ministry of Defense of Slovakia plans to purchase 17 three-dimensional radars with automated data transmission systems, and spend € 160 million on this over 10 years.
The current state and prospects for the development of the air defense system of Slovakia
Currently, the air defense system of Slovakia has very limited capabilities to counter modern air attack weapons. The Kub air defense missile system and the S-300PMU air defense missile system, which are included in the combat composition, have a low combat potential due to the high wear and tear and long-expired anti-aircraft missiles, and their coefficient of technical reliability is very low. The most efficient ground-based air defense system of the Slovak army is Igla-1 MANPADS. But portable systems have a short firing range and a small height reach.
Of the radars designed to illuminate the air situation, the newest is the RL-4AM Morad-L - delivered 15 years ago. The Czech-made RL-4AM Morad-L radar with a detection range of up to 200 km was created on the basis of a model originally intended for regulating air traffic in the vicinity of airports and tracking civil aircraft. In this regard, their characteristics do not fully meet the requirements for radars designed to issue target designation to anti-aircraft missile systems and guidance of interceptor fighters.
At the moment, the provision of air defense of the country and the interception of aircraft - violators of the state border, is entrusted to the MiG-29AS fighters, of which there are 5-6 units in combat readiness. The arrival of the first American-made F-16V Block 70/72 fighters is expected not earlier than the second half of 2022. In total, Slovakia should receive 14 F-16V Block 70/72, but their full combat readiness can be achieved no earlier than the summer of 2024.
Until that time, the Slovak Air Force will make do with badly worn MiGs and rely on military assistance from NATO allies. On February 15, 2017, in Brussels, the Slovak Republic and the Czech Republic signed an agreement on cooperation in the mutual protection of airspace. The Slovak and Czech air defense structures are integrated into NATO's joint air and missile defense system NATINAMDS. However, given that the air defense capabilities of the countries of the North Atlantic Alliance have dropped several times over the years since the end of the Cold War, in the event of a full-scale conflict, Slovakia and the Czech Republic will have to rely only on their own forces.
